Gieringer Honored

Marijuana was for sale at the California State Fair this year — a historic first that drew camerapersons from Reuters and two other news outlets. On Friday, July 12, Dale Gieringer, the longtime director of California NORML (and trusted source for your correspondent) became “the first-ever customer.”

“I got a refreshing 10mg strawberry/lemonade beverage for a little more than $9, including taxes,” Dale reported. “A good deal when you consider beer was selling for $16 a cup at the fair. I had to consume it in the exhibit's outdoor consumption lounge, which thankfully had shade and misters, since the temperature was 106º. No smoking was allowed there, but on Sunday they are opening a special on-site smoking area under a tent in a field a couple of blocks away.”

The vendor was a reputable company called Embarc.

On Sunday Dale noted that the lounge was “not bad considering it had to be located outside and you can’t carry cannabis inside, where the booths and air conditioning are. Inside you can only buy small CBD slushies, but can’t carry them out into the consumption lounge. Also, the smoking area won’t be open until tomorrow. It’s located a couple blocks away under a tent near an oak grove. Ah, freedom!”

The chap from Reuters took this picture of Dale making the historic purchase.

106º in the consumption lounge says it all. We won on marijuana but lost on global warming.

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Cal NORML's indispensable Deputy Director, Ellen Komp, adds this account:

Outside the CBD-only cannabis exhibit hall at the Fair is a “cannabis oasis,” where cannabis flower and products can be purchased, and drinks and edibles can be consumed. At one end of the "oasis" fair-goers can purchase cannabis products from Embarc or, at the other end, from a group of cannabis equity companies from across the state. Customers can then walk down a path to the consumption space and enjoy their purchases with others inside a huge tent. Shade, misters, and fans provide relief from the heat in both spaces, and the exhibit space is air-conditioned.

Attendees can see the names of winning entries in various categories (Sungrown, Indoor, Mixed Light, plus edibles, topicals, pre-rolls, etc.) and use a QR code to pre-order the winners at Embarc. In no place however can customers smell or sample any cannabis before purchasing, unlike the rules for beer and wine at the fair. Indeed, booze can be purchased and consumed all over the Fair with children present, while only those 21 and over can enter the cannabis exhibit space.

Both Embarc and Ramon Garcia of the Equity Trade Network worked with officials from the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) and the Sacramento Office of Cannabis Management to establish rules for the cannabis sales and consumption, some of which are a bit much: any opened cannabis containers must be put into a sealed child-proof package, and Fair police made it clear they would “make an example” of offenders who consumed outside allowed areas. Attendees were also not permitted to take their CBD slushies purchased inside the exhibit hall outside to the oasis or consumption lounge. The opening of the lounge, which was expected at 11 AM, was delayed until 1 PM while final inspections took place and (reportedly) flame retardant was added to the tent, where (also reportedly) CO2 scrubbers were added to scrub the air from cannabis smells.

The historic weekend drew a large crowd of enthusiasts and curious folks from across California. Many stopped at an information booth that Cal NORML shared throughout the weekend with the nascent California Cannabis Historical Society. [Longtime activist Richard Miller helped person the booth.] We hope to table at the next two weekends at the Fair.

With the exception of Friday, July 19 when the cannabis sales and consumption spaces will be closed (due to Brewfest happening that day), the spaces will be open for the duration of the Fair, which continues through July 28.